83 Patti Smith Quotes from the Godmother of Punk

Patricia Lee Smith is an American singer-songwriter, musician, novelist, and poet.

Born in Chicago in 1946, Patti Smith emerged as a compelling force in the Manhattan arts scene by the early 1970s.

Initially a poet, she teamed with guitarist Lenny Kaye, eventually forming a band. Smith’s raw charisma and innovative rock sound quickly earned her a cult following.

Her debut album, “Horses,” in 1975, remains a classic. While her later ’70s music had commercial leanings, her essence resonated throughout.

After a hiatus, Smith made a strong comeback in the ’90s and continued to produce notable work in the 21st century.

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A writer too, her memoir “Just Kids” won a National Book Award. Often deemed a punk rock precursor, Smith’s fusion of rock and bohemian ethos influenced many.

Recognitions include a 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and the 2011 Polar Music Prize.

Let’s have a look at some of the best quotes by Patti Smith.


Best Patti Smith Quotes

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Ultimately, I want to make everyone horny. ~ Patti Smith.

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I love my little overgrown yard. And my house is wonderful. It’s everything that I need. ~ Patti Smith.

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Everything distracted me, but most of all myself. ~ Patti Smith.

An artist wears his work in place of wounds. ~ Patti Smith.

Hey sister, you’re just moving too fast, you’re screwing up the quota. ~ Patti Smith.

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I didn’t waste my time on things I didn’t love. ~ Patti Smith.

One day we’ll go in together, and the work will be ours. ~ Patti Smith.

I gave you a wrist watch, baby, and you wouldn’t even give me the time of day. ~ Patti Smith.

I want to be around a really long time. I want to be a thorn in the side of everything as long as possible. ~ Patti Smith.

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Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself? ~ Patti Smith.

We believe we will raise the sky, we got to fly over the land, over the sea. Fate unwinds and if we die, souls arise. God, do not seize me please. ~ Patti Smith.

Blessedness is within us all. ~ Patti Smith.

Wisdom was a teapot, pouring from above. Desolation angels, served it up with love. ~ Patti Smith.

All doors are open to the believer. It is the lesson of the Samaritan woman at the well. In my sleepy state it occurred to me that if the well was a portal out, there must also be a portal in. ~ Patti Smith.

Good press, bad press, whatever, only means a lot to me if it’s writ by somebody I respect, by somebody I like. ~ Patti Smith.

If you over-plan, you close the door on possibilities. ~ Patti Smith.

I thought to myself that he contained a whole universe that I had yet to know. ~ Patti Smith.

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We tried not to age, but time had its rage. ~ Patti Smith.

When I was a teenager, I had trouble getting a boyfriend, so I imagined Arthur Rimbaud or Bob Dylan as my boyfriend. ~ Patti Smith.

Top Patti Smith Quotes

The idea of redemption is always good news, even if it means sacrifice or some difficult times. ~ Patti Smith.

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Laughter. An essential ingredient for survival. And we laughed a lot. ~ Patti Smith.

The only thing you can count on is change. ~ Patti Smith.

I’m right here right now and I want now to be the Golden Age …if only each generation would realize that the time for greatness is right now when they’re alive … the time to flower is now. ~ Patti Smith.

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As far as I’m concerned, being any gender is a drag. ~ Patti Smith.

I had gone to Paris to immerse myself in painting and I came back wholly involved in words and rhythms. ~ Patti Smith.

I never felt oppressed because of my gender. When I’m writing a poem or drawing, I’m not a female; I’m an artist. ~ Patti Smith.

We wanted, it seemed, what we already had, a lover and a friend to create with, side by side. To be loyal, yet be free. ~ Patti Smith.

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I’m not really a musician. I’m a performer and I love rock ‘n’ roll. ~ Patti Smith.

I think guys are more emotional. Men are supposed to be the strong ones, they have pressure on them to be strong, but when it comes to sex men are much more emotional than women. ~ Patti Smith.

Good news doesn’t necessarily have to be a positive thing. Bringing good news is imparting hope to one’s fellow man. ~ Patti Smith.

As I grew up, one of my strongest allies has been my sister. ~ Patti Smith.

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Freedom is…the right to write the wrong words. ~ Patti Smith.

Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine. ~ Patti Smith.

Famous Patti Smith Quotes

I know fashion is a material thing, but we live in a material world and I love clothes. ~ Patti Smith.

If you don’t have what you need, just rock with what you’ve got! ~ Patti Smith.

When I was a kid, I loved Sherlock Holmes. I’m not interested in crimes. I’m interested in the mind of the detective and his process, which to me is a lot like the artist. ~ Patti Smith.

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When you hit a wall, just kick it in. ~ Patti Smith.

I just know that young people suffer, and I also know music is one of the things that help you get through – music and friends. ~ Patti Smith.

People have the power to redeem the work of fools. ~ Patti Smith.

I longed to read everything I possibly could, and the things I read in turn produced new yearnings. ~ Patti Smith.

No one expected me. Everything awaited me. ~ Patti Smith.

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Got to lose control before you take control. ~ Patti Smith.

Since childhood, it was my dream to go where all the poets and artists had been. Rimbaud, Artaud, Brancusi, Camus, Picasso, Bresson, Goddard, Jeanne Moreau, Juliette Greco, everybody – Paris for me was a Mecca. ~ Patti Smith.

Life isn’t some vertical or horizontal line – you have your own interior world, and it’s not neat. ~ Patti Smith.

Swift is the arrow, dark is the thorn, the slate is clean, the future awaits, awake. ~ Patti Smith.

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We go through life. We shed our skins. We become ourselves. ~ Patti Smith.

We need a new cosmology. New gods. New sacraments. Another drink. ~ Patti Smith.

I have loved books all my life. There is nothing more beautiful in our material world than the book. ~ Patti Smith.

I learned from him that often contradiction is the clearest way to truth. ~ Patti Smith.

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Never let go of that fiery sadness called desire. ~ Patti Smith.

I always wanted to be an artist, writer and poet since I was seven, and one has to live long enough to evolve as an artist and do one’s finest work. ~ Patti Smith.

I’m an artist. I’m interested in how art gets made. ~ Patti Smith.

I don’t think the average American understands what patriotism truthfully is. That’s why when I attack our country or attack the government, it’s sometimes looked at as unpatriotic. It’s not. ~ Patti Smith.

The people have the power to redeem the work of fools. Upon the meek the graces shower, it’s decreed the people rule. ~ Patti Smith.

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I think I’m constantly in a state of adjustment. ~ Patti Smith.

It will not fall away. Man cannot judge it. For art sings of God, and ultimately belongs to Him. ~ Patti Smith.

All doors are open to the believer. It is the lesson of the Samaritan woman at the well. ~ Patti Smith.

To me, punk rock is the freedom to create, freedom to be successful, freedom to not be successful, freedom to be who you are. It’s freedom. ~ Patti Smith.

In the war of magic and religion, is magic ultimately the victor? Perhaps priest and magician were once one, but the priest, learning humility in the face of God, discarded the spell for prayer. ~ Patti Smith.

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We went our separate ways, but within walking distance of one another. ~ Patti Smith.

Art is by nature optimistic. Art is optimistic because it is alive. ~ Patti Smith.

I immersed myself in books and rock ‘n’ roll, the adolescent salvation… ~ Patti Smith.

Those who have suffered understand suffering and therefore extend their hand. ~ Patti Smith.

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Remember, we are mortal, but poetry is not. ~ Patti Smith.

In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth. ~ Patti Smith.

Love is an angel disguised as lust. ~ Patti Smith.

I walk alone, assaulted it seems, by tears from heaven. ~ Patti Smith.

Pollution is a necessary result of the inability of man to reform and transform waste. ~ Patti Smith.

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Finally, by the sea, where God is everywhere, I gradually calmed. ~ Patti Smith.

Paths that cross will cross again. ~ Patti Smith.

Life is like a roller coaster. It’s never going to be perfect – it is going to have perfect moments, and then rough spots, but it’s all worth it. ~ Patti Smith.

Ultimate Patti Smith Quotes

Make your interactions with people transformational, not just transactional. ~ Patti Smith.

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Desire is hunger is the fire I breathe, love is a banquet on which we feed. ~ Patti Smith.

You’re not a rock ‘n’ roll person four hours a day or even when you’re on stage. It’s become the rhythm of your whole life. ~ Patti Smith.

You can’t make a mistake when you improvise. ~ Patti Smith.

I’m a total failure at housewifery. I always have been, ’cause I daydream too much. If I start doing the dishes at one in the afternoon, I’ll still be there at six in the evening. ~ Patti Smith.

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Outside of society, if you’re looking that’s where you’ll find me. ~ Patti Smith.

Deep in my heart how the presence of you shines, in a light to last a whole life through. ~ Patti Smith.

Put down your cell phones, put everything away, and feel your blood pulsing in you, feel your creative impulse, feel your own spirit, your heart, your mind. Feel the joy of being alive and free. ~ Patti Smith.

I was there for these moments, but so young and preoccupied with my own thoughts that I hardly recognized them as moments. ~ Patti Smith.

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Punk rock is just another word for freedom. ~ Patti Smith.

Life is an adventure of our own design intersected by fate and a series of lucky and unlucky accidents. ~ Patti Smith.

Words are just rules and regulations to me. ~ Patti Smith.


So these were the 83 top Patti Smith quotes on love, art, poems and success.

If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Jennie Finch quotes and Sarah Silverman quotes.

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Chandan Negi
Chandan Negi

I’m the Founder of Internet Pillar - I love sharing quotes and motivational content to inspire and motivate people - #quotes #motivation #internetpillar